Children's Environmental Health Studies

Melinda Denham, Ph.D.
Graduate

Room 338
North Bureau of Early Childhood Services
Office of Children and Family Services
52 Washington Street
Rensselaer, New York 12144
518-473-4777
518-474-9617 (fax)
Melinda.Denham@ocfs.state.ny.us

Research Interests
I received my Ph.D. from the UAlbany anthropology department in December 2005. My dissertation explored egg donation through the experiences of infertile women who have received donor eggs. My research interests include new reproductive technologies, infertility, gender, women's health, and environmental influences on health. I have worked on several of the Children's Environmental Health Studies, and co-written papers on the effects of toxicants on sexual maturation and thyroid hormones; and the influence of prenatal and infant nutrition on lead levels during infancy.

Dissertation
Experiences of in vitro fertilization donor egg recipients: The impact of technology on reproduction
Abstract: Donor egg in vitro fertilization (DE), first developed in the early 1980s, severs female biological reproduction into genetic (egg donor) and gestational (egg recipient) components. Due to its high cost, in the United States DE is primarily used by white, middle and upper class women. In the media, infertile women who utilize this assisted reproductive technology have been variously caricatured as desperate, irrational, selfish, feminist career women, too old, and/or cause of their own infertility... [more]

Publications
2007:
Advancing biocultural models by working with communities: A partnership approach. L.M. Schell, J. Ravenscroft, M.V. Gallo, M. Denham. American Journal of Human Biology. 119 (4): 511-524

2006:
PCBs and cognitive functioning of Mohawk adolescents. J. Newman, A. Aucompaugh, L. M. Schell, M. Denham, A. P. DeCaprio, M. Gallo, J. Ravenscroft, C.-C. Kao, M. Rougas Hanover, D. David, A. M. Jacobs, A. M. Tarbell, P. Worswick, Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 28(4):439-45.

Effects of pollution on human growth and development: an introduction. L. M. Schell, M. V. Gallo, M. Denham, J. Ravenscroft. Journal of Physiological Anthropology, 25(1):103-112.

Modern Urbanism and Human Growth. L. M. Schell, M. Denham, M. Schneeberger, N. Codru. In, Human Growth in Sickness and Health. I Nicoletti, L M Schell and G Gilli (eds). Florence, Italy: Nicomp LE. Pp 43-70.

2005:
Relationship of lead, mercury, mirex, DDE, HCB, and PCBs to age at menarche among Akwesasne Mohawk girls. M. Denham, L. M. Schell, Glenn Deane, M. V. Gallo, J. Ravenscroft, A. P. Decaprio, and Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment. Pediatrics 115(2): e125-e134.

2004:
Thyroid function in relation to burden of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s), p,p’-DDE, HCB, Mirex, and Lead among Akwesasne Mohawk youth: A preliminary study. L.M. Schell, M.V. Gallo, A. DeCaprio, L. Hubicki, M. Denham, J. Ravenscroft and Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology. 18: 91-99.

Relationship between blood lead and dietary intakes of infants from 3 to 12 months of age. L.M. Schell, M. Denham, A.D. Stark, J. Ravenscroft, P. Parsons and E. Schulte. Environmental Research. 96(3): 264-73.

2003:
Environmental pollution in urban environments and human biology. L.M. Schell and M.M. Denham. Annual Review of Anthropology, 32:111-134.

Maternal blood lead concentration, diet during pregnancy and anthropometry predict neonatal blood lead in a socioeconomically disadvantaged population. L. M. Schell, M. Denham, A. D. Stark, M. Gomez, J. Ravenscroft, P. J. Parsons, A. Aydermir, R. Samelson. Environmental Health Perspectives, 111 (2):195-200.